Card Cameos: 1999 Topps Stadium Club #41 Cruz and Ripken

Last week I briefly mentioned my favorite card from the Thorzul group break and promised an explanation. Well, it is a Tigers cameo, which is my new favorite pet thing to pay attention to. This one doesn't allow for the level of detail of the first two, which, in my own admission was a bit overkill, but I may like it even more. Let's take another look:

1999 Topps Stadium Club #41 Deivi Cruz (& Bill Ripken)

When I first saw this card, I wondered, "man, who is that at second base?" It looks a little like...yep. Billy Ripken. Perhaps I'm more attuned to it now that I live in Baltimore, where Bill makes the occasional appearance on the radio (where he is quite entertaining, by the way). But I think it's because he has also become a semi-regular on the MLB network during their Baseball Tonight-style show. Anyway, a quick search revealed what I already knew. Bill Ripken was on the Tigers briefly in 1998 and that he wore #14. Check.

But this card is important for another reason. For all intents and purposes, there are only 2 cards of Billy Ripken in a Tigers Uniform: He's in 1998 Ultra and 1998 Pacific, and I don't have either card. Well friends (and Ripken family collectors--you've got to be out there somewhere) now you've got another one to chase. This rather nice Stadium Club card of Deivi Cruz features Bill as well.